Here we are, day off in Liege, Belgium. What a boring town. There's a pretty park, but not much else. I think the most interesting thing I saw today was a guy eating a waffle. In Belgium. Get it? Compared to the last few days, it's a huge let down.
View from my hotel room in Liege.First, we have Venice. Holy cow, what a beautiful city. Just awesome. We took a water taxi into the city, and it went directly to the hotel. It was so cool. The hotel was just amazing, all kinds of Italian Neo-Classical architecture, and about 200 yards from Piazza San Marco.
Oh my god, I am so small.
Which, by the way, was incredible. Intimidating, beautiful, wonderful, fascinating: I don't know how many more adjectives I have. There was more than one point where someone said that it was like a Disney ride, except real. Which is a hell of a compliment to Disney, I guess. Our drum tech, Simeon, knew someone in the city, so we got to see some parts that most tourists don't. It was fantastic. I had dinner on the roof of the hotel with Ben and the rest of the band, and some crew members. It was such an amazing view of the city, right on the main canal. There was a sea gull that sat right at the corner of our table the entire meal. All I could think of was Jonathan seagull and my grandmother. I get the feeling she was there, watching out for me.
From there, we went to Montreaux, Switzerland. The famed Montreaux Jazz Fest, where they booed Stevie Ray Vaughan. I ran into a couple of guys from Jupiter One, who are playing with Regina Spektor's band, which was pretty cool.
The festival was put together so well, and everything was great, until about half way through the set. The band was playing a song called "Keep it Together." There's a part in the song where it breaks down, and turns into a long guitar solo, and then blasts into a big restore and chorus. Well, right about the part with the big restore, the guitar rig decides to blow a fuse. Ben, in a most professional way, looks at the crowd and says "You gotta keep it together!" and cues off a drum solo. While the guitar techs run around and fix the problem, Jordan, the drummer, pulls out this fantastic drum solo, and the song conitnutes after the guitar rig gets fixed. One of the most incredible moments of live theatre that I've ever been a part of. And, it turns out, Quincy Jones came out to see the show. He was blown away by the set. He actually hung out with us until 4AM. At Montreaux. I'd swear it was all a dream, except for the photos and autographs that were still there the next morning.
S0, yeah. Mom and Dad, Europe sucks, and I can't wait to come home. No, really.
"I can't complain, but sometimes I still do."
Joe Walsh
From there, we went to Montreaux, Switzerland. The famed Montreaux Jazz Fest, where they booed Stevie Ray Vaughan. I ran into a couple of guys from Jupiter One, who are playing with Regina Spektor's band, which was pretty cool.
The festival was put together so well, and everything was great, until about half way through the set. The band was playing a song called "Keep it Together." There's a part in the song where it breaks down, and turns into a long guitar solo, and then blasts into a big restore and chorus. Well, right about the part with the big restore, the guitar rig decides to blow a fuse. Ben, in a most professional way, looks at the crowd and says "You gotta keep it together!" and cues off a drum solo. While the guitar techs run around and fix the problem, Jordan, the drummer, pulls out this fantastic drum solo, and the song conitnutes after the guitar rig gets fixed. One of the most incredible moments of live theatre that I've ever been a part of. And, it turns out, Quincy Jones came out to see the show. He was blown away by the set. He actually hung out with us until 4AM. At Montreaux. I'd swear it was all a dream, except for the photos and autographs that were still there the next morning.
S0, yeah. Mom and Dad, Europe sucks, and I can't wait to come home. No, really.
"I can't complain, but sometimes I still do."
Joe Walsh
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